What is a mortgage disclosure document?

What is a mortgage disclosure document? A Mortgage Closing Disclosure document from is provided by your mortgage lender 3 business days before your closing date. This form lists the loan terms, projected monthly mortgage payments and total closing costs.

The Closing Disclosure form is an important part of your Boston downtown condo closing process. In the following sections, we’ll discuss what’s included in your Closing Disclosure, the procedure for receiving and acknowledging the form and how to correct errors.

What Is Included On The Closing Disclosure Form?

When you get a Boston condo mortgage, your Closing Disclosure provides important information regarding the final details of your home loan. It’ll include finalized loan terms, disclosures and closing costs.

In order to familiarize yourself with the document, take a look at this sample Closing Disclosure. This information is broken up into several sections:

 Boston Real Estate Closing Information

On your statement the Closing Disclosure displays your closing date and when any applicable funds will be disbursed. The Boston condo address is next and then the sale price of the home. The name of the person or entity handling the closing will also be included.

Boston Real Estate Transaction Information 

This section  will include your name and address along with the name of the lender, the seller’s information would also be included.

Boston Real Estate Loan Information

The important items here is the Boston condo loan term, the purpose of the loan (purchase/refi), the product type (fixed, adjustable, interest-only, etc.), and the loan type (conventional, FHA, VA, etc.). These are important things to know because they’ll tell you if your payment can change and how long you can expect to be paying off the loan. The loan type is also important because each mortgage investor has different policies regarding things like insurance and future refinancing options.

Boston Real Estate Loan Terms

This will tell you what the loan amount is, as well as the interest rate and what your monthly payment will be. If you’re getting an adjustable rate mortgage, it’ll be disclosed here that your payment can go up after closing.

Boston Real Estate Projected Payments

This section will show a breakout of your monthly principal and interest payments along with other costs that may be included. These could include any applicable payments for mortgage insurance as well as estimated costs for your property taxes and homeowners insurance if you have an escrow account. The table will also show any possible future changes to the payment for situations like the removal of mortgage insurance or the increase of an ARM rate.

 Boston Real Estate Costs at Closing

This section breaks down the total amount that needs to be paid at the closing in order to secure the loan and complete the transaction. This includes the Boston condo down payment plus other closing costs for both the loan and third-party fees associated with the transaction.

 Boston Real Estate Loan Costs

Lenders charge an origination fee, which is how they make their money on the loan. Sometimes instead of calling it origination, they break into separate processing and underwriting fees. Whatever they call it, the differences in these fees can help you compare lenders.

If your Boston condominium loan is government-backed, there’s typically an upfront mortgage insurance, guarantee or funding fee which can either be paid as part of your closing costs or added into the loan. You’ll also need a lender’s title policy, which is insurance for the lender that there won’t be any other claims against the property and that there are no existing liens.

Except in certain refinance situations, you’ll need an appraisal in order to establish the value of a property. While these are the big ones, you’ll usually pay a fee for when the lender pulled your credit report. Finally, the lender may charge a fee for the delivery of documents.

 Boston Real Estate & Other Costs

This section covers county fees for recording the deed and any applicable transfer taxes as well as any upfront homeowners insurance and property tax payments, along with required funds to set up your escrow account. Home inspections may also be included in these closing costs.

Finally, you may pay for an optional owner’s title policy which gives you the money to buy another home in the unlikely event that someone unknown comes forward in the future with a legitimate claim to your property.

Calculating Cash to Close

This section breaks down how the total due for closing costs was calculated. This adds together your Boston condo down payment, loan and other costs, subtracting any existing deposit, any fees you paid in advance and any items being paid by the seller in a purchase transaction.

Summaries of Transactions

This shows how much you (and the seller in a purchase transaction) owe or are getting back at the closing table. There’s also a breakdown of how these calculations are made.

 Boston Condo Loan Disclosures

After the math comes another section discussing the important terms surrounding your loan.

Among the items you’ll find here are disclosures on whether your loan can be assumed by another person in a sale and whether your lender can ever call for full repayment of your loan early. You’ll also have a breakdown of your initial escrow costs.

 Boston Condo Loan Calculations

This table looks at the total amount you would pay for your loan assuming you made all your payments as scheduled without paying off any principal early. The finance charge is the difference between the total amount you end up paying and your loan amount.

You’ll also see the annual percentage rate, which is your mortgage interest rate after factoring in closing costs, along with the interest percentage you’ll pay over the life of the loan.

Other Real Estate Disclosures

Here you’ll find final miscellaneous details related to your Boston real estate loan. You’re entitled to a copy of any appraisal, and you should also review your contract details to see what happens if you fail your obligation to make payments under the loan, including your foreclosure liability.

Finally, there’s a disclosure around the tax deductibility of interest paid on the property.

Contact Information 

Depending on who’s involved in the transaction, this section may include contact info for the lender and mortgage broker, as well as the buyer’s and seller’s real estate agents and the closing agent.

What Is The 3-Day Rule?

Federal law requires that you receive your Closing Disclosure at least 3 business days prior to your scheduled Boston condo closing date. The idea here is that you’re given time to make sure you’ve reviewed the loan terms so that you’re comfortable with the mortgage you’re getting.

It’s important to promptly acknowledge when you receive this document. Not doing so could cause an unwanted delay in your closing date.

Sellers receive a separate Closing Disclosure covering their side of the transaction on the day of closing. No acknowledgment is necessary.

What If Something Is Wrong With Your Closing Disclosure?

When you get your Closing Disclosure, you should compare it to the loan estimate you received shortly after application in order to look for any errors or material changes in your loan terms.

The actual loan costs should only change very minimally, if at all, from the initial loan estimate you received shortly after applying, although costs for third-party services (appraisal, title, etc.) can change by as much as 10%.

If you see a mistake, or if something just doesn’t seem right, contact your lender and/or closing agent. They’ll be able to provide an explanation.

If there is a mistake, they can correct it as soon as possible so that you can move forward with your purchase or refinance on schedule.

Boston Real Estate and the Bottom Line

You should now know what to expect from your Closing Disclosure. If you’re looking to purchase a home or refi your current one.

Boston real estate